Sounders FC to play CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal on March 6, March 12

A day after MLS announced that Sounders FC’s league season would start on March 2, CONCACAF has announced that Seattle will start its Champions League quarterfinal against Mexico’s Tigres UANL a couple days later.

The Sounders kick off the two-leg series on the road on March 6 at 7 p.m. and finish at CenturyLink Field on March 12 at 7 p.m. Ticket information for the home game will be announced in January.

An MLS spokesman confirmed on Twitter that Seattle — along with the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo — will get a Week 2 bye in league play to help focus on the CCL quarterfinals.

The tournament semifinals will be held April 2-4 and April 9-11 the Seattle-Tigres winner will face the Santos Laguna-Houston winner. On the other side of the bracket are the Monterrey-Xelaju and LA Galaxy-Herediano pairings.

The two-leg final is set for April 24 and May 1, and the winner earns a berth into the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco.